Renovation of General Purpose Laboratories, Gaithersburg, Md.

Share

Nearly 45 years old, the NIST Gaithersburg General Purpose Laboratories (GPLs) comprise seven laboratory buildings—totaling about 111,480 square meters (1.2 million square feet)—that house most of NIST's measurement research and services. Unfortunately, these aging facilities cannot adequately support the 21st century measurement science research required to sustain U.S. innovation performance at world-leading levels.

As is also true for NIST Boulder decades-old facilities, the Gaithersburg GPLs are equipped with outdated, inefficient structural, mechanical, electrical, and safety systems that significantly reduce research and measurement productivity. Long overdue, renovations would substantially improve control of temperature, vibration, humidity, air cleanliness, and overall building performance as well as help NIST to meet energy reduction and environmental goals. Safety and work conditions for staff would significantly improve and productivity would increase as well, greatly enhancing NIST's ability to provide the advanced measurements needed by U.S. industry and to apply scientific and technological capabilities to solve pressing national challenges. This initial funding includes the cost for the overall planning of the entire renovation effort as well as design of the first phase of the renovation.

As indicated by the table below, proposed renovation of the seven GPLs will be carried out over much of the coming decade, beginning with initial planning and design of the multi-phase program, which is the focus of the requested FY 2010 initiative. Elements of the proposed funding plan are: